Falling Down
by smallish
Summary: All that Uchiha Itachi left behind was a mere ghost of a boy. Modern, AU. OneShot


**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, I'd have a way to pay for college. Golly!****

Summary: All that Uchiha Itachi left behind was a mere ghost of a boy.

**Falling Down**

**one.**

The first time Kakashi ever sees Sasuke is a night when he sees an ambulance and cop cars silently flashing their lights in front of the Uchiha manor, a crowd of civilians crowded around as if gathering to watch an entertaining play. As much as Kakashi's always hated those vultures, those people who can't just let the dead lie, he joins them, pushing past them all until he's as close as he can be.

In flashes of red, the scene unfolds before him; the struggling boy—just barely a teenager, Kakashi thinks—with streaks of blood across his face, his clothes. Fear traces every movement of his body, hysteria making him wild, murmurs of words escaping his mouth that Kakashi can just catch snatches of—among them are _brother _and _murder_. Paramedics have flocked around him, trying to calm him and wrestle him to a stretcher; Kakashi can see the way he clutches at his side, how his breathing is all wrong and sometimes the worst cough jars his frail body. Eventually, a dark-haired doctor that Kakashi has worked with before parts her medics and before the boy can flinch away, she administers a sedative with a syringe that she handles with expert precision. The boy's movements slow, but there's still the fear, the pain, and the paramedics fix a breathing mask to his face. He is carted into the ambulance and the doctor, Shizune, meets Kakashi's gaze. They are silent, Shizune's face grim and unmoving. Without a word, she ducks into the van and it drives off.

One. Just the one boy is taken to the hospital. Kakashi looks up at the Uchiha manor, once so graceful and elegant, but now ominous. Just one. The boy's face is imprinted into his mind: dark hair, pale skin, and smooth, angular features. An Uchiha. Just one.

There are on-duty police on the scene. Kakashi knows them, could offer to help, to put on his badge as well, but he doesn't. There's nothing more to see. Because the Uchiha, he thinks, are all already dead.

**flicker.**

The boy, he learns the next day, has survived. The blood on his body was hardly his at all. He suffered from a broken rib and a punctured lung, but he survived.

That, however, does not mean he lived.

Kakashi can already see his face; dark, haunted eyes, too old for his years. Kakashi is not on this case, but he's connected. That boy is the only breathing Uchiha, the only one not either brutally slaughtered, or mad enough to kill and commit suicide. His name is Sasuke. _Sasuke._ He'll be bound to that name, and he remembers the strength of his spirit even when it was broken. He can feel the strength in the boy, just from that red-washed glimpse of him.

The funerals are private and Kakashi does not even try to attend. He can see, in his mind's eye, the boy standing over tombstones, head bowed, and dressed in black.

He keeps tabs on the boy. Sasuke has no living relatives, so he's put into foster care. The family that takes him in is a good one, one that Kakashi's known for a while. Just a husband and wife, but kind people and patient. They'll be good for the boy.

**spark.**

He sees Sasuke again months later. He's on duty, making his standard patrol about town when he finds the boy sitting at an empty bus stop. There's something in Sasuke's posture, the lowered head, the clasped hands, that tells Kakashi he shouldn't look the other way this time. He can't.

So he flashes his lights briefly and pulls over to the curb. The boy's attention has been caught and he watches Kakashi approach him silently.

"Did I do something?" Sasuke asks when he is close enough. He has a split lip and a bruise under his eye. They look recent.

"No," Kakashi responds. He steals a glance down and finds Sasuke's knuckles torn and bloody. He looks back up at Sasuke's face. "My name is Kakashi. I knew your family."

Something changes in Sasuke's eyes then. The dull black begins to liven and at that moment—

_embers._

**deeper.**

It's an inescapable fate, being with this boy, this child that has slipped through the cracks. It's not such a bad fate, really. He even likes it, sometimes, talking with Sasuke or not talking. He's got a good heart and a clever mind and Kakashi likes that in him.

There's that undefinable edge to him, though, that Kakashi doesn't believe was ever there before the murders. Or maybe it was always there, just that no one ever had the chance to notice. That edge, that anger, that frustration with the world, and worse, himself, is what Kakashi doesn't like about Sasuke; spends too much time worrying about it and too often finding his worries legitimate.

It's not fair, he thinks. Things like this usually never are.

It's late autumn when he finds Sasuke, distant and alone, looking wane against the gray pavement and overcast skies. Kakashi maneuvers the car over and pulls up next to the boy. Sasuke stops once he spots the older man, face hardening into a mask.

"Hey," Kakashi calls out cautiously.

"Hey," he returns quietly, gaze guarded enough to tell Kakashi that he's been up to something. Something that might not be entirely his fault, but he still can't get away with.

"What happened?" he asks, quiet. He tries to hold the boy's gaze, but Sasuke is stubborn in looking away.

"Nothing," he mutters, lying.

"Nothing," Kakashi repeats. His tone is almost scolding.

Sasuke snaps his gaze to meet Kakashi's. "It's none of your business," he sneers, the momentary weakness receding behind anger.

"You were fighting again?"

Sasuke snorted boldly. "It's not like that. You don't—"

"I'll take you home," Kakashi cuts him off, sensing Sasuke's frustration rise. He takes the boy by the shoulder.

Sasuke twists out of his grasp with a hiss, eyes steely and cold.

Kakashi snatches up Sasuke's wrist, grip so hard it hurts. "Look," he snaps, "you can come home willingly, or I can shove you in the backseat. Which is it?"

The expression on Sasuke's face darkens into contempt and he twists his wrist out of Kakashi's hand. He walks past him and opens the passenger door of Kakashi's unit. He waits impatiently for Kakashi to join him on the driver's side.

Kakashi sighs, tired, and takes his seat. He puts the car in gear and drives off.

**long roads.**

The drive to the foster home is a long and quiet one and Kakashi doesn't say a word until the last stretch.

"I know this is hard for you, Sasuke."

"You don't know _shit_." Sasuke's voice is hard and cold, the tiniest tremble emerging in the statement.

"I've lost my parents too."

Sasuke snorts. It doesn't compare. They both know it.

"You have to give the foster homes a chance."

Sasuke leans back in his seat, turning his face away. He's silent for a moment. "Are you going to tell them what happened?"

"No."

The way Sasuke's frame relaxes slightly, the way he gives a tiny nod, tells Kakashi that he's thankful.

"You shouldn't do things like that. You'll get hurt."

Sasuke barks out a broken, bitter sort of laugh. "What are you, my _father_?" The venom behind the word is intense and unmistakable. Kakashi falls silent. "I'm not stupid."

"I don't_ think _you're stupid, Sasuke."

"You treat me like I am." The boy snaps bitterly.

"I treat you like you're an angry teenager that's lashing out at everyone that wants to help."

Sasuke flinches.

"You're not stupid, Sasuke, but you do stupid things. You're father wouldn't—"

"_Don't _talk about my father." Sasuke's voice cracks and his glare is watery with tears he's trying not to shed.

"He wouldn't want you to do this," Kakashi presses more firmly. "So don't. This isn't you."

Sasuke scoffs. "You don't know me."

"Yes I do."

Sasuke doesn't say anything for a long while. Kakashi pulls up to the ledge of his foster home.

"You're two hours late, you know," he informs the boy. "They were worried."

"I don't care," Sasuke says crossly.

"Yes you do. Or you wouldn't care if I told them."

The house's front door opens. A woman waits there patiently. It's too dark to see her features, but Kakashi knows she's looking at them. Sasuke doesn't move; the doors are locked anyway.

"I know you miss them," Kakashi says, more softly this time. "But you're going to end up hurting yourself. Please be more careful."

Sasuke turns his face more towards the window and Kakashi thinks he's crying.

"It wasn't your fault," he murmurs gently and he reaches out to touch Sasuke's shoulder. He stops inches away and lets his hand fall to his side. "Listen, Sasuke. There was nothing you could have done. You would have died too."

"So?" The single syllable of an answer is thick and choked. "I don't care if I die."

"I do."

"You only care cuz—"

"I care because I like you. You're a good kid. And if I thought otherwise, I wouldn't even glance your way. I'd let you hurt yourself."

In the silence, Kakashi can hear Sasuke sniffle. He waits a moment. Then he glances up at the woman in the doorway. He unlocks the door.

"She's waiting. Just tell them that I saw you walking home and gave you a lift."

Sasuke doesn't answer and reaches for the door. He pushes it open and steps out.

"Sasuke—" Kakashi leans toward Sasuke to meet his eyes. They're a little red and watery. "I'll come by tomorrow, okay?"

The teenager nods and shuts the door.

Kakashi watches Sasuke walk up the long footpath and pause when he meets the woman. They exchange a few words and the woman squeezes Sasuke's shoulder. As they're going inside, the woman pauses to glance back at Kakashi. She gives him a small smile and enters her home. She closes the door behind her.

Kakashi sighs, checks his mirrors, and pulls out into the street.

_**End Falling Down**_


End file.
